First
Reformed Church, also known as the Dutch Reformed Church, was first
organized in 1674, but did not have a regular minister until 1684. It
had several different locations before the current one at Union and
Church Street was built in 1863. A
major fire in 1948 destroyed almost all of the church, leaving only
the four stone walls standing. It was rebuilt and dedicated in 1950.
It is actually their sixth church building.

A
well known incident in the church's history took place in 1943 when
the minister, Rev. Lt. Clark V. Poling was serving in North Africa.
When his ship was torpedoed, he and three other chaplains assisted the
troops and eventually gave up their own life jackets. All four chaplains
went down with the ship and were posthumously awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross for their heroic actions.